ZTE Returns to the Black

ZTE says its restructuring efforts during the past few years resulted in a return to profitability in 2013.

After years of sales growth and profits, the Chinese vendor suffered a setback in 2012, reporting a 2.4% year-on-year decline in revenues to 84.22 billion Yuan Renminbi ($13.9 billion) and a net loss of RMB 2.84 billion ($469 million).

Those efforts have paid off, as ZTE Corp. (Shenzhen: 000063; Hong Kong: 0763) announced Monday that its full-year 2013 net profit is set to be between RMB 1.2 billion and RMB 1.5 billion ($198 million to $248 million) once its results have been audited.

The company states that it "strengthened its management over contract profitability and exercised stringent control over the execution of low-gross margin contracts," and "strengthened its control over costs and expenses with enhanced efficiency," noting that total expenses in 2013 were "significantly lower" than in 2012.

In its press release announcing the return to profitability, ZTE noted that it has "rigorously implemented changes in strategy, operations and corporate organisation in the past two years, making it a priority to improve operational efficiency and returns on investment, alongside business growth." Indeed, only recently the company announced a reorganization of its business and appointed some new senior executives. (See ZTE Reorgs for Mobile Device Domination.)

"Business growth" will be a greater challenge than cutting costs and shuffling the chairs around the top table, though. The vendor reported a significant year-on-year dip in revenues during the first half of 2013, so the company will have needed a major bump in its second-half sales to register a rise in full-year revenues. (See ZTE Suffers Sales Slip in First Half.)

Safest prediction for 2014 However the second half of 2013 worked out for ZTE, I think it's safe to say that the ramp in spending by CHina Mobile, Telecom and Unicom this year on 4G access and transport infrastructure should result in a year-on-year rise in revenues for ZTE.

Understanding the full experience of women in technology requires starting at the collegiate level (or sooner) and studying the technologies women are involved with, company cultures they're part of and personal experiences of individuals.

During this WiC radio show, we will talk with Nicole Engelbert, the director of Research & Analysis for Ovum Technology and a 23-year telecom industry veteran, about her experiences and perspectives on women in tech. Engelbert covers infrastructure, applications and industries for Ovum, but she is also involved in the research firm's higher education team and has helped colleges and universities globally leverage technology as a strategy for improving recruitment, retention and graduation performance.

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